Piano key mounting



'NVEN TOR. fan 0&0 6' 54 067% fl URWEKS1 E C SLOAN PIANO KEY MOUNTING Filed April 19, 1946 May 17, 1949.

Patented May 17, 1949 UNlTED..- STATELS. PATENT OFFICE:

PIANO KEY MOUNTING Edward C. Sloan; Madison, Wis.;assignor to The Rudolph -Wurlitzer-.-Company, Chicago, 111., a

corporation 7 Application April 19, 1946, Serial No. 663,259

This invention relates to a piano key mounting applicable for use-in'piano key assemblies for both pianos-and piano accordions, particularly as to the' beari-ng andbearing-guides' therefor on the balancerailof the key bed.

Thepurpose of this invention is to provide a bearing assembly to provide'a wide support for thekeys on thebalance rail suchas toprevent cocking "or tilting of. the keys sidewise; particularly wherein the key rodsextend angularly from the keys to the point of l-ifti By means of such 1 bearingstructureeach-key is provided with a bearingsupport directlyin'line with its point of applied' pressure' and its point of lift.

Another-feature :ofethe: invention resides in thebearing supportziforsthe keys such asmay be readily removediandzreplacedwith respect to the'balancerail.

Still a furtheroieature 'of the invention resides in'the spacedhingerelements of the bearing support'of each key, .such=as':t0 provide for and I maintain more perfect alignment of the keysin the keyboard: than .iwas possible with. the usual single bearing; point,- as heretofore employed.

A further feature of the'invention resides in the twopoint bearingrconstructionsuch as -to provide spaced: bearing points for engagement with :the balance :rail in overlapping relation.

This permits of therkeysi'or their. key rods'being In: the drawingssthere-is illustrated a key had shown herein as zbeing particularly::applicabl-e" forzusexwithi a .pianozactiombut' which is also applicabie with variations toia piano": accordion action; Said key :bed includes a key bed support 1 l0=having:a front moldingzll, :frontwrail l2 for theainatural akeysivandiirontz rail l3 for the sharp:

keysax: Said :key bed-also includes the: natural keys 1 l4 and sharp keys I5. Each of said :rlaturalkeys is supported *bytan.extensionthereof, here shown asza key-rod "L -and each ofathe. sharp'keys is I siniilarlyrsupported byaanextension which may comprise a kBYlIOdZ-ll Toaccommodate th'ekeys 1 to the action,said rods may. be bent at l8 so as to extend at an angle from their bearing point-to a point of lift indicated atl9. Said key rods terminate at the point of lift in a flattened bifurcated portion 20'for suitable connection with the piano or accordion action.

For hingedly supportingthe several keys at their fulcrumpoint, thereis mounted at spaced intervals upon the key'bed support ill the up standing brackets?! and 22; Supported by said 1 brackets transverselyoi the key bed there are balance rails 23 and 24, respectively. The bal-z ance rail 23hingedly supports the natural keys; whereas the balance rail :24 hingedly supports the sharp keys. Saidrails are-shown herein in the:

formof cylindrical rods; 1

Each Jof said keys' with its'respectiverodis hingedly supported onthe' balance rail by a re- The hinge; bearingelement 25J'shown'in'Fig. 4, is designed-to movable hinge bearing element.

provide a bearingsupport ioreach of the sharp.

keyrods l'l'on their :balance rail 24." Said ele ment 25 similarly provides the bearing support for certain of the naturalkey rods 16; as shown in Fig. 1. The hinge bearing-element 26"shown in'Fig. 3, is similar tothat of Fig. 4, but'reversed to'provide'the support for those natural keys l4" lying adjacent thenatural keys supported by the hinge element 25', the reverse arrangement of the "hinge elements beingsuch as to overlap and interlock in respect tothose natural keys lying adjacent each-other.

Thehinge bearing element 25 is formedof spring sheet metal having Ian-elongated top plate adjacent one end of which'thereis provided a springbearing c1amp21: I The other end of said plate'is formedwith a raised'platform 28 -from which is formed'the spring bearing clamp 29. Said bearing clampsi'are reversely looped to spring a .about one. orthe other of the balance rails '23, 24.

Upstanding from the platform 28 there is a hinge pin 30 extending through an aperture provided in the key rod to be :hinged thereby; Similarly; the hinge bearing :element"26. is provided with w springbearing clamps 3!," '32,- platform"33 and hing pin 34;

By reason of the close spacing of the adjacent pair of natural keys 4'located between the sharp keys. 15, one of' said keys is mounted. on the hingebea-rine element 25 andthe other on element "26. Said elements 1 being reversely ar a ranged, andas shown in Fig. 1, the spring bear-r ing'clamp29 of the hinge element 25 is mounted on the balance rail'intermediate the spring bearing'clamps 3|. 32 0f the element 2E5 Since'the remaining natural keys M are spaced apart by the sharp key l5, their hinge bearing elements need not overlap. The same is true of the sharp keys which are spaced apart by the natural keys. Therefore, the hinge element 26 is employed in overlapping relation with the element 25 only in the mounting of one of the pair of natural key rods I6 lying between the sharp key rods ll. It may be noted that the raised platforms 28 and 33 are suficiently elevated to support their respective key rods above the laterally extended and elongated top plates of the hinge elements so that the extended portions thereof on the bracket 21 will not interfere with the operation of the keys, particularly the sharp keys carried by the brackets 22.

By means of this arrangement a wide bearing support is provided for each of the keys such as to stabilize them and prevent cocking, particularly wherein the point of lift is oifset from the point of pressure applied to the keys in actuating them. As shown in Fig. 1, the point of pressure is indicated at 35 and it will be observed that the line 36 drawn between said point and the point of lift passes through the bearing point of the spring bearing clamp 21. A corresponding line drawn between the point of pressure and point of lift of each of the other keys will be observed to pass directly through the bearing support provided either by the bearing clamp 21 of the bearing element or the bearing clamp 3| of the bearing element 25. Said spring bearing clamps are formed to snap on to their respective balance rail rods 23, 25 so as to be readily removed therefrom. However, it is preferable to provide them with a felt washer, as indicated at 31 in Fig. 2. The wide bearing support provided by the spaced spring bearing clamps retains the keys in their proper alignment in the keyboard while permitting the adjusting of any misalignment through a slight bending of the clamps on the hinge bearing element.

The invention claimed is:

l. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of piano keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a transversely extending balance rail supported on said key bed support, and a hinge bearing element for each of said keys hingedly supported on said balance rail having one point of bearing directly under the key supported thereby and a lateral offset point of bearing to one side of said key and beyond the bearing support of the adjacent key.

2. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a transversely extending balance rail mounted on said key bed support, and a hinge bearing element for each of said keys of a width greater than the overall width of a pair of adjacent keys, whereby each key is provided with a wide stabilizing bearing support.

3. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a transversely extending balance rail therefor supported on said key bed support, and a hinge bearing element provided with a spring bearing clamp for interlocking engage ment with said balance rail for hingedly supporting a key thereon, said spring bearing clamp extending laterally from the supported key toward and in alignment with the next adjacent key 4 to thereby provide a wide stabilizing bearing support for said supported key.

4. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a transversely extending balance rail supported on said key bed, and a hinge hearing for each of said keys having a pair of spaced. bearing supports thereon in bearing engagement with said rail, one of said bearing supports being offset laterally from said key.

5. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a transversely extending balance rail supported on said key bed support, and a hinge bearing for each of said keys having spaced offset bearing supports, the bearing support for one of said keys extending between and overlapping the bearing support of the next adjacent key.

6. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating a point of lift, a transversely extending balance rail supported on said key bed support, and a pair of spaced hinge members on each key hingedly mounted on said rail to provide a bearing support for each key of greater width than said key, the hinge members of adjacent keys being in overlapping relation.

'7. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of piano keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a transversely extending balance rail supported on said key bed support, and an elongated hinge bearing element for each of said keys comprising a bearing support, means for mounting the key on one end thereof and an extended stabilizing bearing support laterally of said key on the opposite end thereof.

8. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of natural and sharp keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a pair of transversely extending balance rails mounted on said key bed support, and a hinge bearing element for each of said keys having spaced bearing supports thereon for bearing engagement with one of said balance rails, said hinge bearing element including means for mounting a key on one end thereof, the opposite end of said element providing a bearing support for said key directly between its point of pressure and its point of lift.

9. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a plurality of natural and sharp keys, each of said keys including an extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a pair of transversely extending balance rails mounted on said key bed support, and a hinge bearing element for each of said keys comprising an upwardly extending pin on one end thereof for securing said element to its supported key and a pair of spaced spring clamps at opposite ends thereof formed to clamp over one of said balance rails for providing hinge bearings thereon for said element, one of said clamps being offset from the supported key to provide a stabilizing bearing therefor.

10. A piano key mounting including a key bed support for a, plurality of natural and sharp keys, each of said keys including an angularly disposed extension thereof terminating in a point of lift, a pair of transversely extending balance rails mounted on said key bed support, and a hinge bearing element for each of said keys comprising an upwardly extending pin on one end thereof for securing said element to its supported key and a pair of spaced spring clamps at opposite ends thereof formed to clamp over one of said balance rails for providing hinge bearings thereon for said element, one of said clamps being offset from the supported key to provide a. stabilizing bearing therefor in line with said point of lift and the key.

1 Number point of pressure on the EDWARD C. SLOAN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS N Pickar Date (1 et a1. Nov. 20, 1917 

